Impacted Crops! Only had them 2 weeks :(

[MissFoodie]

My three have impacted crops since yesterday... have been eating drinking and poohing

I have now removed food and done massages...

Anything else I can do except wait?

TIA

[OneEpisode]

Are they on grass? We’ve had rain here so the grass might look tasty if it’s new to them. Keep it short as longer grass can cause problems.

[Hedgesfullofbirds]

Have you tried giving them a little olive oil or vegetable oil, orally, prior to massage just to help move things down to the gizzard? What bedding are you using - avoid shredded paper or sawdust as they will pick at it and it can impact the crop. Try giving them some watery porridge or (ironically!) scrambled egg to eat. Smell their breath - a foul, yeasty smell indicates that it is turning to sour crop and may need veterinary intervention and a course of antibiotics, followed by probiotics to restore the healthy crop fauna. Good luck.

[MissFoodie]

Doesn't smell and they have easychick bedding plus straw in nestbox, hard wood in run. I think it's grass...

How much olive oil each? 2 ml?

Have acv in water and removed food

[Hedgesfullofbirds]

Yes, somewhere between 2 & 5 ml would be about right depending upon whether they are bantams or full size chickens. Easiest way is via a pipette or syringe (without needle!) if you have one, or a small teaspoon. Keep up the massage - are their crops feeling very hard and distended or are they subsiding a little now?

[MissFoodie]

They are eating yoghurt and oil so will give them a while and then massage again.

Two feel soft like play doh one is firmer though...

[MissFoodie]

They are all hybrids, how long to massage for?!

[Hedgesfullofbirds]

I would try about 2 or 3 minutes at a time, unless you seem to be causing them discomfort or pain, about every two hours. Are they listless and in obvious discomfort or still fairly perky and alert? Are their combs drooping?
I am not a vet though, only an enthusiastic chicken keeper and this is what has worked for me in the past - if they don't improve then obviously you will need professional advice from a vet.

[MissFoodie]

Massaged them a few hours ago, then gave them yoghurt mixed with olive oil and removed food.
An hour later massaged them all again and they definitely felt softer, more like bread dough than play doh!

They seem to like the massage so that helps, otherwise perky, scratching about, drinking water, poohing etc

Now gone to bed so will see what they look like
In the morning!

If still swollen, do i not feed them and repeat the yog/oil mix ?

[Hedgesfullofbirds]

It certainly sounds as though they are improving! If they are still a bit impacted in the morning then, yes, I would suggest not feeding them straight away - their crops will probably be slightly inflamed and sore, but access to water is essential to prevent dehydration. The yoghurt is good and you could allow them access to that for breakfast, or a probiotic drink like yakult.

Hopefully, overnight everything will move down to the gizzard as normal. If they seem alert, drinking and scratching they do not sound too poorly! Their crops will feel distended and full anyway during the day, to an extent and normally empty to the gizzard overnight. The crop is really just a 'holding bay' and very little digestion takes place there, although enzymes do start the digestion process.

Any chance of a picture, once they have recovered?

[MissFoodie]

This is from last week: Margot napping, barbara and Pamela in the background

[MissFoodie]

More pics here The Ladies have arrived: Pamela(ar), Margot and Barbara www.mumsnet.com/Talk/chicken_keepers/3962861-the-ladies-have-arrived-pamela-ar-margot-and-barbara

[Hedgesfullofbirds]

Haha, they are gorgeous! Congratulations

[Wallywobbles]

Scrambled eggs is the food of the gods to chickens. Good for every ailment.

[MissFoodie]

Might try that, with crushed shells?

[MissFoodie]

Anyone managed to make one regurgitate? I can still feel the corn from yesterday.....more massaging and olive oil but if it's still there by tomorrow morning...?

[Hedgesfullofbirds]

Hi OP - have only just seen your larest update, apologies.

You can get them to regurgitate, but, until you have practised a little, it is a two person job. Basically one person needs to hold the chicken upside down, grasping the body fairly firmly and clamping the wings to the body, the second person then needs to gently straighten the chicken's neck downwards with one hand and, with the other, massage the crop downwards ie towards the beak. Do this for about 10 seconds or so and then hold the chicken right way up for a few minutes so it can breathe! Repeat this a few times and, hopefully, this will expel the crop contents!

At the moment I would avoid giving them crushed shells as this might irritate their crops which will probably be sore and inflamed.

You mentioned feeling the corn from yesterday, in their crops, - is this chicken corn (ie wheat), or is it maize? Is this what they were having as a diet before you aquired them? The reason I ask is that if they were previously on a softer diet, like layers mash or layers pellets, a sudden change to harder food could be what is causing them digestive issues.

How are they in themselves? Still alert and active without droopy combs?

[MissFoodie]

Yesterday they had scrambled eggs with olive oil for breakfast then yoghurt with olive oil for lunch. For dinner i had branwaive to add hot water to their pellets to make mash.

The day before they had had mixed corn.

This morning their crops seem to have gone down almost completely and they are very hungry so more mashed pellets and I think I can get away with not making any regurgitate. Two were worse than the other last night.

Will continue with wet pellets for today and re evaluate later and tomorrow morning, they definitely seem to have perked up and are running around.

Is a tonic any use? Or seaweed? There seem to be loads of supplements out there.

They have organic layers pellets and acv in their water. They were having mixed corn as a treat in afternoon but have stopped since their crops were so swollen.

Have signed up for the advanced chicken keeping course on 9th august at costwold chickens so really looking forward to that!

[Hedgesfullofbirds]

That is good news - sounds as though they are well on the road to recovery

Personally I don't give mine a tonic of any kind, just regular worming a couple of times a year.

You could give them mealworms now and again as a treat - they love them!

[OneEpisode]

Glad Hedges could help.
The only thing we keep in stock is “diatomaceous earth” Apparently it’s fossilised algae dust. Cheap. They are stroked with it. They prefer to find their own garden dust bowls for their baths but the weather doesn’t always suit.

[Wallywobbles]

Ours like ash for dust baths.

[MissFoodie]

Yes use DE in their dust bath(mixed with compost) and coop.

Does anyone add seaweed or omega oil to get better yolks?

[Hedgesfullofbirds]

One of the other uses for Diatomaceous Earth is in the manufacture of dynamite, when mixed with nitroglycerine! Thoughts of exploding chickens now😂

[OneEpisode]

Hedges you knew about compacted crops and exploding chickens? I think DH puts some of the DE in with the feed for ours, as an occasional treatment, should I worry?

[NeedAUserNameAllTaken]

Hi MissFoodie, glad your chooks seem okay. I've found maggots to be pretty good for a impacted crop - the maggots eat the food in there for you. Just go to a fishing/bait store. Also an amazing treat; they love them!

I've read that it can be very risky manually attempting to empty a crop due to an asphyxiation risk, I think I'd go to a vet for that one. If you haven't yet I'd highly recommend finding a ch9vjtn savvy vet, it makes all the difference.

I've found the Omlet forums to be amazing for chicken advice- in fact the lady from Cotswold chickens is on there. Masses of expert knowledge on those forums, they've saved me a few chickens over the years that's for sure.

We use DE, have for years, the girls love it, meant to be good for parasites too.

Enjoy your new girls, they are beautiful!

[NeedAUserNameAllTaken]

*chicken savvy